Share:
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms and Therapy
contents
- From big to small
- The syndrome
- Litt Lewis Carroll on Alice in Wonderland Syndrome?
- issues
- therapy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland became a world bestseller. The girl Alice sees a white rabbit looking at a clock and says it's too late. Alice follows him into the rabbit hole and arrives at a room full of doors. She finds a key that opens the smallest door, but does not fit.
Alice in Wonderland - Template for the syndrome. Image: Cisek Ciesielski - fotolia From big to small
Then she drinks a potion that makes her small enough, but the door is closed. Finally she comes to Wonderland, meets the white rabbit and grows into the gigantic. Then she becomes small again and runs into the forest, a caterpillar brings her back to her normal size.
Alice comes to the Duchess and meets the Cheshire Cat, after which she meets the March Hare and the Mad Hatter at a mad tea party. She ends up with the Queen of Hearts and the King of Hearts; The Queen of Hearts desperately wants to cut off someone's head.
Alice plays croquet with animals and anthropomorphic playing cards, the bat is a flamingo and the ball a hedgehog. The Queen of Hearts condemns all but Alice to death, but the King of Hearts pardons them.
A griffin leads Alice to the turtle supper, a mixture of kih and turtle. Then comes a court case in which the Herzbube must justify having stolen the cakes of the queen. The Mad Hatter is a witness, as is Alice. But now she has become so big that she breaks the court. Before she goes on, Alice wakes up next to her sister.
The syndrome
The Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a cognitive disorder in which people see their environment and themselves distorted. Above all, people, animals and objects appear smaller and larger than they really are.
The name is deceptive insofar, because it is not an independent disease. Rather, such an aura occurs in the pre-phase of an epileptic seizure or a migraine attack.
Some children experience migraine as dizziness, they feel sick and vomit. Before, they are plagued by vivid hallucinations.
Litt Lewis Carroll on Alice in Wonderland Syndrome?
The author Lewis Carroll himself suffered from migraine, and researchers suggest that even these visual hallucinations in the run-up to his seizures were bothering him. However, the narration can also be explained as an LSD trip or as a shamanic experience in a trance state.
As early as 1955, researchers speculated that Carroll was processing his own experiences in his books. This was controversial because the author never mentioned diarrhea symptoms in diaries. But now there are new hints.
Dr. Klaus Podoll from Aachen found a drawing by Carroll, in which a figure lacks an area on the head. This indicates a blind spot typical of the aura of a migraine.
The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome also includes auditory hallucinations, a heightened sense of touch, and a loss of the sense of time and space.
issues
Because their perception changes, those affected can lose their orientation and fall. Also, outsiders may interpret the behavior as mentally ill, which it is not.
A disturbed perception is a leading symptom of the syndrome. Image: WeiHua Hsu - fotolia therapy
The Alice in Wonderland syndrome can not be treated yet. On the other hand, the basic disease, such as migraine, is treated. However, the symptoms disappear after a short time by itself. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)